Coeur d’Alene and other Idaho cities opted to adopt tougher rules on child care centers after state lawmakers rejected bills before eventually approving tighter standards.

Jon Downing, a part-time chemistry instructor at North Idaho College and a co-adviser for the NIC Gay-Straight Alliance, said he has heard stories of discrimination in Coeur d’Alene.

“I have had students fired from their jobs for coming out in their workplace,” said Downing, who is gay. “I have counseled student victims of hate, some of whom were considering suicide to escape the ugliness they see all around them.”